Movie essay - CRASH

Movie `CRASH` by Paul Haggis

2006

The illusion of feeling safe and impermeable to everything when we are in our car is destroyed when we crash into someone and are forced to deal with what just happened . In reality , we think we are unaffected by racism simply by avoiding certain encounters . We pretend we are impermeable to its effects . But if we were placed in a particular situation , we would be forced to deal with our prejudices . Only when we recognize and admit our prejudices can we begin to deal with racism

in our society

I think what Paul Haggis , the co-writer and director of Crash , wants us to believe is that racism is inherent within all of us , but this doesn 't necessarily make us evil . Some of us are aware of this and are not afraid to expose it , while others go to great lengths to conceal it Some people are not aware of their prejudices at all . Sooner or later we are all confronted with our prejudices , and how we choose to react to them is what really matters . Crash examines the racial interactions between several ethnic groups through cleverly constructed scenarios It also identifies individual struggles with racial prejudice and how it affects choices they make in their personal and professional lives . I have illuminated several examples from the movie as well as my interpretations of them

Some characters in the movie are explicitly racist . Jean , the wife of a politician , makes very pointed racial remarks within earshot of Daniel the Hispanic locksmith changing the locks in her house after she experiences a frightful carjacking . She stereotypes Daniel as a gang banger because he 's Hispanic , has a shaved head and tattoos . This and other racial prejudices of hers become apparent after she is carjacked But later in the movie , after Jean sprains her ankle falling down the stairs , we are touched when she hugs her Hispanic maid and confides that she is the best friend Jean has . We contemplate forgiveness for Jean 's earlier statements of racism , yet she hasn 't shown evidence that she has become aware of her prejudices

Ryan is a cop whose racism is also apparent . In an infuriating scene that invokes hatred for his racist character , he molests an African American woman and chastises her husband for allowing her to mouth off . In another scene , Ryan insults Shaniqua , the woman handling his father 's medical case , implying she is incompetent because of her African American ethnicity . He seems to redeem himself later when he saves Christine , the woman he molested , from a burning car . We feel sympathy for him when we see him caring for his ailing father . We struggle with our conscience in deciding whether or not his earlier display of racism is forgivable . But despite this apparent act of redemption , his character only shows the slightest feelings of regret while reminiscing on an earlier act of racism

Racial prejudice is also exhibited in more subtle forms . Jean 's...